Do you ever feel like there are just too many choices? Hahaha. We are lucky to have choices but with the internet and social media sometimes I feel like, “wowowowowow”. I know everyone talks about unplugging but, whew for me, this is crucial to my sanity. The choices, the advice, the guidance, the information, the books, the podcasts . . . it goes on and on. Finding our inner voice and deciding what is right for us to grow and develop, needs to come from quiet. To me that is why nature is so important. It always has been a catalyst for change, or at least a space that enables me to gain confidence in something new or something being created. When I was 19 years old, I remember walking at the beach with my Grandma and telling her how I didn’t want to go back to the college I was attending, where I had a full scholarship. I wanted to stay in California, I wanted to come back and do something different. It was so hard. It felt like a midlife crisis but I found clarity in those walks (at talks). I call it the end of my first career. Because the ocean for me is a place where you can’t think. Your mind is erased in a good way. It is really the monkey mind that is quieted and it feels soooo peaceful in there, between the ears. It can be on a mountain, in the desert, in a field of flowers, even in a park in the city. Finding the stillness that is in nature, the trees blowing in the breeze, the warm sun or the chilly air, birds, trees, squirrels, dolphins, ants or ladybugs, there is nature everywhere and when we are in it and observe it, it helps us. I hope you can take the time to reconnect with nature and find that quiet we all so desperately need in our chaotic world! Even if it’s just a few minutes watching the sunrise, the birds in your backyard, or the waves roll in, it will help!
Speaking of help, I’m really excited to share news about my new three-month, small group coaching class. I’ve been a coach for a long time and I just love helping people find ways to overcome challenges and live their best life. I wanted to share this experience, so I’ve developed a new small group class which we’ll do online through Zoom. Maybe you have something out of your comfort zone that you know you want to do but it gives you a little flutterfly in the belly. Or maybe you don’t know what that is yet but we can discover it together. I’ll lead the discussion but we’ll all gain from each other. It’s going to be a great adventure for all of us and I’m eager to see where this will lead!
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Taking action is the key to everything. It is one of the best tools for getting past the monkey mind and achieving what we want to achieve. It doesn’t have to be hard but if we fight with our thoughts and succumb to our mental chaos then it is harder than it needs to be.
It is such a strange human predicament that we want to achieve things that are outside of our comfort zone (or we are forced outside of our comfort zone to grow and develop), yet our brain, likes the comfort zone. It is “safe”, predictable, no surprise . . . to our primitive brain its needs are met so it screams, “why, are you doing this, what are you doing?, you don’t need to do that, you are fine here, and on and on and on". This is the fight, flight, or freeze mechanism that we don’t need anymore in our civilization. That is why it is up to us to use any means available hahahaha (coaching, meditation) to quiet that voice so we can have clarity. Recently, I have been going through this crazy thing with one of my teeth. Ugh, dentistry, not my favorite thing. I really wanted to save the tooth. I felt it was less shocking to my body to keep it but after a few procedures it seemed like I was going to need to take it out. I was so muddled in pain, fear, not wanting to lose this tooth etc. that I was having a hard time making that call. For me, to gain clarity, I needed to talk with five or six people to help me cut through my scared thoughts to make a good decision. It happens to all of us. The key is to observe it as the monkey mind it is so that we can take action.The action could even be to seek input, research, meditate, or talk to a coach. With my client,s we are looking at this all the time because monkey mind is unique in each person . . . it is smart, clever, and gets you where you are most vulnerable. It is trying to convince you that that is the truth. However, when we look at it and observe it, we see it isn’t the truth at all and then the beautiful thing is that the truth is revealed. Wow! If you feel in a loop of crazy, stop and take an action. Just one action at a time. It will calm and quiet your mind. Welcome to Courtney’s Tuesday Tidbits. I love that word Tidbit hahaha, “an interesting bit of information.” So, I will be sending you a little tidbit every Tuesday to inspire, motivate, shine the light on, or make an observation about something that hopefully will be interesting. Since this week we have Valentine's Day, I want to offer a heart opening meditation, as taught by Yogi Bhajan. If you are in the 15-minute Monkey Mind Manager course, you can either add this to the practice or do it at a different time. This meditation will open your heart and create a flow of love. Enjoy!!! Start by sitting in easy pose and tune in with Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo. Then sit with hands in Prayer pose, chant Sat (pronounced sut). Then with hands straight up, move out to halfway between the original position and fully extended, chant Kar (pronounced car, and slightly roll the r sound). Then full extension across your body, hands still stretched up, chant Tar (also slightly rolling the r sound). Continue for 3, 7, or 11 minutes . . . I've also made video for you to follow below. Chanting Sat-Kar-Tar: the essence of being in a state of truth. It is said that behind the heart is where the soul resides. Chanting these primal sounds opens and expands the energetic flow of the heart and strengthens our faith. Is it religious? Not at all. In fact, people of all faiths practice Kundalini yoga. It just deepens your belief, faith and expands your “you-ness.” Yogi Bhajan said, “Kundalini Yoga is not a fad and it’s not a cult. It’s a practice of experience of a person’s own excellence which is dormant and which is awakened.” After you’ve finished this meditation, in your journal write five things you love about yourself and five things you are grateful for. It all starts with you. Like putting the oxygen mask on ourselves first so we can take care of others. Let this open your heart to loving yourself and then you can better love others. Happy Love Day!!! |
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AuthorCourtney Gebhart, Life Coach, Kundalini Yoga teacher, and Human Being. Archives
January 2021
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